Nausea, morning sickness, frequent urination. Just when you thought you’ve experienced the entire list of pregnancy symptoms another one shows up: vision changes.
Experiencing changes in vision during pregnancy can be concerning for many expectant parents. Especially if you’ve had perfect eyesight all your life.
One common symptom of pregnancy that is not talked about enough is blurry vision, which may arise due to various factors related to pregnancy.
In this article, we’ll explore what causes blurry vision during pregnancy, whether it’s normal, and when it might indicate a need for medical attention.
Can Pregnancy Cause Blurry Vision?
Vision changes are definitely one of the more common complaints during pregnancy. Especially blurry or blurred vision which is the lessening of the quality of your eye sight.
However, unlike normal vision problems such as far or nearsightedness, pregnancy-related blurry vision is a temporary and often harmless condition.
It is also not to be confused with other forms of eye disease or vision loss such as macular degeneration, cataracts, or glaucoma.
The most common cause of pregnancy hormones changing the shape of the eye (more specifically, the corner) temporarily. Most possibly as a result of water retention.
Symptoms may include mild visual impairment and difficulty seeing objects that are far away or close by.
Pregnancy-related blurry vision does not affect the mother’s quality of life or the baby’s health in any way.
If you are already wearing prescription glasses, you may find that your vision is worsening as well.
You can have perfect sight all your life and never worn corrective eyewear, and still experience blurry vision
It is very rarely a major concern.
However, you should still inform your doctor during your prenatal check-ups so they can run further tests to see if it’s something serious.
Even though hormones are usually to blame for vision changes during pregnancy, a doctor may still want to rule out other causes such as eye damage or cancer.
How Common Is Blurry Vision During Pregnancy?
Blurry vision and other types of vision changes are fairly common among pregnant women.
Around 15% of all expectant mothers will usually experience some form of benign visual impairment.
These can include both nearsightedness and farsightedness, sometimes both.
When it comes to blurry vision, a study shows that women in the second and third trimesters are the most susceptible.
These are when the hormones are at their peak levels and will affect your vision much more than at the earlier stage of your pregnancy.
How Do Pregnancy Hormones Cause Blurry Vision?
As mentioned above, pregnancy hormones are the number one cause of pregnancy-related vision changes.
This is caused by the increased levels of estrogen and aldosterone. These hormones are responsible for increasing the amount of water retention in the body.
Usually water retention causes swelling of the ankles, legs and feet.
Sometimes, this water retention affects even the fluid in your eyes. Especially the cornea, which is responsible for clarity and precision of sight.
When there is excess fluid in the cornea, it increases in thickness and changes its curvature. This changes the clarity of your vision, making your eyesight blurry.
This phenomenon is known as corneal oedema. And there is no known medication for corneal oedema.
However, experts found that it usually resolves a few weeks after childbirth without any treatment.
What Other Things Can Cause Blurry Vision During Pregnancy?
There are other causes for blurry vision during pregnancy other than pregnancy hormones that can change the shape and thickness of your cornea.
Some of these conditions can be a bit less harmless than corneal oedema. These may require immediate medical attention.
The first is diabetes—or more specifically, gestational diabetes.
The high blood sugar levels can damage the blood vessels in your eye causing blurry vision. If left untreated, it can even cause blindness.
This condition is called diabetic retinopathy.
Women who were already diabetic prior to getting pregnant are at most risk for this condition. While there is a high chance of recovery, there is also some risk that it may be irreversible.
Other symptoms that you should watch out for are the usual; dry mouth, thirst, frequent urination, fatigue and others.
Preeclampsia, or gestational hypertension is also another condition that can cause blurry vision or Progressive Reversible Encephalopathy Syndrome (PRES).
Visual impairment is one of the early warning signs of PRES.
The condition itself may accompany other symptoms, especially if left untreated. These include headaches, mental changes, confusion and seizures.
Women who already have high blood pressure are more at risk of preeclampsia and in turn, PRES. So, they will require special medical care to prevent total or partial visual loss.
Dry eyes, also caused by hormonal changes may also cause some blurry vision.
If this is the case, then doctors may prescribe eye drops.
What Can Mums Do About Blurry Vision During Pregnancy?
Most instances of blurry vision or other vision changes in pregnancy are harmless.
They are temporary, mild and usually require no treatment except in the most severe instances.
In most cases, blurry vision will resolve and fade away slowly a few weeks after delivery.
Often mums who experience blurry vision during pregnancy go to an eye doctor to get their vision checked. They may even go home with a pair of prescription glasses.
Sometimes the blurry vision could be caused by dry eyes, then eyedrops are usually the prescribed remedy.
This is not advisable.
Instead, go to your regular doctor in charge of your pregnancy.
They will usually do the right tests to confirm whether your vision changes are a result of the pregnancy or something else.
For mums who are already wearing glasses, experts generally advise for you to wait at least a few weeks after childbirth before increasing your prescription.
Chances are, your worsening vision is not because of your eyes but because of the changing hormones in your body.
If unfortunately, it is something more serious than mere hormones, such as gestational diabetes or preeclampsia, then your doctor will know exactly the right treatments to help.
Is Blurry During Pregnancy Dangerous?
Blurry vision during pregnancy is mostly harmless.
However, as mentioned, there can be times when it can point to a serious health condition.
These conditions include diabetes, glaucoma, Grave’s disease, IIH (Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension), DIC (Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation), APS (Antiphospholipid Syndrome), and others.
But these are very rare cases.
That said, there are still other precautions that you should still take.
For instance, expectant mums who have blurry vision should avoid driving at all costs.
Visual impairment can easily result in a car accident or other traffic mishap.
They should also avoid walking or going anywhere outside alone.
This is to prevent accidentally stepping on, falling over or accidentally hitting anything in their path that they might not see.
These are one of the few instances where blurry vision during pregnancy can truly physically endanger an expectant mother.
How to Monitor Vision Health During Pregnancy
It is important to be aware of your changing body during pregnancy. While not a top priority, your vision is on that list.
There is, of course, blurry vision, which manifests as poor quality of eyesight – especially far sight.
Sometimes the opposite is true, with some mums having difficulty reading text or seeing nearby objects.
While blurry vision usually isn’t harmless, there are rare cases where it does point to something very serious and even life-threatening.
However, blurry eyesight isn’t the only thing you should watch out for.
Pregnant mums should also watch out for things like eye pain or eye stinging, eye dryness, increasing sensitivity to light, gradual and complete vision loss in one eye or the other, auras (flashing lights, bright spots, etc.), double vision, and the like.
Some vision changes could be a sign of other underlying causes as mentioned earlier.
So, anytime you are having vision problems, watch out for other symptoms such as fever, headache, nausea and vomiting, extreme fatigue, difficulty breastfeeding, ringing in the ears, and etc.
Crystal Clear Vision During Pregnancy
Blurry vision during pregnancy is usually nothing to worry about.
It can be inconvenient and sometimes even downright annoying, but it usually goes away after childbirth without treatment.
However, that does not mean that you should ignore it and go about your entire pregnancy that way. Vision changes, while mostly harmless, could still point to a serious medical condition.
So if you experience any changes to your eyesight at all, especially blurry vision, do not hesitate to inform your healthcare provider.
With any luck, any vision problems that you’re experiencing during your pregnancy will fade away as soon as your baby is born. Ensuring crystal clear motherhood for many years to come.
Here’s to your healthy pregnancy, mummies!
Disclaimer: The information provided in this article is for informational purposes only and should not be considered as medical advice from Motherhood. For any health-related concerns, it is advisable to consult with a qualified healthcare professional or medical practitioner.
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